Arthur grabbed Shirley and carried her up the stairs and out of the house. With the spell shattered, who knew how long it would be until the others returned? With Shirley down, they weren’t ready for another fight.
While Merlin was worried about Shirley, he was also worried about Peter and his new friends coming back. Shirley was still breathing and didn’t seem injured, but that might change if they stuck around. Arthur was sweating by the time they reached the motel room again.
Once inside, Arthur laid her on the bed. Quickly, Merlin looked for any signs of a wound. All he could find were two needle-like marks on her neck. Realizing Ruth must have done the vampire thing and sucked her blood, Merlin realized what he had to do.
While she might be fine, it was better to play it safe. Ruth didn’t have enough time to take too much of Shirley’s blood, but something in her bite, or more likely, her saliva, had knocked Shirley out. Either that or Ruth had taken more blood than was safe.
Muttering to himself, he tried to come up with a spell, “Blood, bud, dud, mud, thud, flood...no, that won’t do. Hmm, maybe end the sentence with now...let’s see. Bow, cow, how, pow, vow, wow….wait, that might work. Let my friend be healed right now, no matter how...somehow” Nodding in satisfaction, he began the spell.
“Let my friend be healed right now,
Fix things right now matter how.”
Merlin felt the spell working, and continued, ignoring the pressure and pushing through to the end.
“Let my friend be healed right now,
Fix things right now matter how.
“Let my friend be healed right now,
Fix things right now matter how.”
Holding his breath, he waited to see if the spell would take hold and do what he wanted. He concentrated furiously on her being healed, whether from the vampire poison, the lack of blood, or whatever else had happened to her.
Slowly, the color returned to Shirley’s cheeks and her breathing became easier. He hadn’t even noticed her breathing hadn’t been good.
Sighing, he leaned back and looked at Robert, wondering how he was doing. He was still asleep or unconscious, however. With the loud snores coming from Shirley’s brother, he didn’t know how though. How could she even sleep in the same house? He wouldn’t be surprised if the neighbors complained about the noise.
Merlin looked down at his hands, thinking. Things hadn’t gone well. Both Shirley and Robert had been injured, not to mention what had happened to Frank. Peter and his sister had turned against them. Arthur was the only one other than himself that could do anything. Shirley’s brother didn’t have any powers, not that the powers had really helped Shirley and Robert.
Wow, things had really gotten messed up. It was nothing like in a book. Yesterday, they had been so sure of themselves. They were going to get that mirror and save Angela. Now, even if they were lucky enough to make it home alive, they would have to face their parents if Shirley and Robert didn’t wake up.
That was when it hit him. Fudge pops! Peter had been at the motel with them. He knew where to find them. Yes, they had left the house, but Peter could just bring Lucas and Ruth to the motel. They were sitting ducks. In fact, they could be outside already.
Springing up, Merlin tugged open one of the pouches that contained the sand. Thank goodness he had prepared a protection spell just in case something similar happened. Why hadn’t he thought of using it though?
Hurriedly, he spread the sand around the doors and windows, then focused on making sure the words were firmly in his mind before speaking.
“Let all evil from this room be banned,
Protect those inside behind this sand.
Keep us safe and sound from harm,
With the speaking of this charm.”
Merlin continued with the words, hoping that with the addition of the sand, the spell would last without his concentration.
“Let all evil from this room be banned,
Protect those inside behind this sand.
Keep us safe and sound from harm,
With the speaking of this charm.”
He definitely felt the pressure, but somehow the use of sand seemed to help as if focusing the magic. He made a silent vow to add more material objects in the future. Merlin almost lost the spell with that train of thought. Buckling down, he pushed on with the rest of the spell.
“Let all evil from this room be banned,
Protect those inside behind this sand.
Keep us safe and sound from harm,
With the speaking of this charm.”
A wall of pressure pushed out from him and into the room, rebounding back to him as if letting him know the spell would now work. The problem was, for how long. Just in case, he decided he might need some type of alarm spell just in case the first spell faded away.
“Alarm, arm, wait, alarm and harm. Those who mean us harm, and then something about setting off the alarm.” With that, he looked at the alarm clock next to the bed. That should work.
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Stretching his arms and rolling his head, he launched into the spell.
“If people come who mean us harm,
Please set off the sleeping alarm.
If people come who mean us harm,
Please set off the sleeping alarm.
If people come who mean us harm,
Please set off the sleeping alarm.”
A similar wall of pressure left his body, but this time seemingly directed all around, but instead of bouncing back, seemed to bounce toward the alarm clock.
Arthur had watched him cast both spells in silence, and even after both were complete, didn’t say a word. Merlin could almost imagine what Arthur must be feeling. After all, he had a similar thought just moments ago. They hadn’t done anything remotely heroic yet, and everything was falling apart.
Arthur looked at him as if to ask, what next. Merlin just shrugged, as if to say he had no idea. “Perhaps we should rest. Maybe by morning, the others will be up, and we can try something new.”
Arthur stared at him a moment, made a face as they might as well, and then nodded. “Okay. But if they aren’t up by morning, you and I will go by ourselves. We have to help Angela.”
Merlin nodded, having every intention of saving her. “Night,” he said, heading to the other room with Arthur. Both of them laid down, although it took Arthur a long time to fall asleep.
Arthur finally fell asleep, but just to be sure, Merlin gave him a few more minutes to settle deeply into sleep. When he was positive Arthur was asleep, he slowly got out of bed and tiptoed to the door, careful not to disturb the sand.
Once he was outside the room, he started walking toward the second location they knew about. Obviously, the mirror hadn’t been at the first location. That meant it had to be at the second. He didn’t need Shirley to point out that logic to him.
No one else was going to get hurt tonight. His friends should be safe behind the protective wards around the room. Frank was down for the count. Lucas, Ruth, Peter, and Belle were probably there with him. That meant Ms. White was probably at the other location by herself. With his spells, he could probably get in and out without getting caught. At least he hoped.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to drive. Well, he knew how. He had seen it on television and had seen his parents drive often enough. He just wasn’t old enough to have ever practiced yet. That meant he had to walk. Little Rock was much bigger than their hometown, but on the plus side, Ms. White must not have wanted to have the two properties to be too far apart. He would be able to walk there in thirty minutes, give or take.
The walk seemed farther, however, and he was feeling the burn, even with the chill of the night. Wow, he read way too many books. Maybe his parents were right, and he needed to exercise a little more. He was really going to feel some muscles aching over the next couple of days. Still, the walk had given him time to go over spells and come up with possible troubles he might encounter.
During the final few blocks, he could really tell a difference between the last neighborhood and the one he was entering. He would definitely need the anti-detection spell in the new neighborhood. In fact, he should probably cast it before he even got close to the house. Pausing for a breather, he prepared the spell once more in his head, just to make sure it went smoothly.
“Let all those who see me think I belong,
Let no camera see me all night long.
Let all those who see me think I belong,
Let no camera see me all night long.
Let all those who see me think I belong,
Let no camera see me all night long.”
By now, the pressure was something he was able to ignore, at least for simple spells. Speaking of which, Merlin decided it was time to pull out some of the prepared spells he had ready.
At first, he had planned on entering through the front door, but after a second of thought, he decided to try the back door instead. The fence was unlocked, which was good since he didn’t want to waste his spell on a fence. Once he got to the back glass door, he looked around, then glanced inside. Seeing nothing, he ventured into his next spell.
“I know this door
has a lock,
But open it,
With my knock.
I know this door
has a lock,
But open it,
With my knock.
I know this door
has a lock,
But open it,
With my knock.”
Merlin heard a click, and smiling, pushed the door open. Slipping inside, he quietly closed it behind him. Slowly, he walked around the house, wondering where he would find the mirror.
He found the mirror upstairs, which was good. He didn’t really want to descend into any dark cave-like rooms again anytime soon. On the bad side, however, was the fact that Ms. White was also in the room with the mirror.
Merlin watched for a few seconds as she continued to wrap the mirror with packing bubble wrap. He nodded to himself. He had made the right decision after all. Ms. White would have been long gone by the time everyone had woken up in a few hours.
Now all he had to do was think of a way to get the mirror away from her. He had planned on using a magic spell to levitate the mirror away, but that wasn’t going to happen while she was around.
He was about to attempt a spell to distract her when she spoke, “You know, you really should work on your sneaking skills. You aren’t very good at it. Come on out.”
Merlin was tempted to stay exactly where he was. Although he didn’t know how she knew, he had no doubt that Ms. White wasn’t bluffing, and really knew he was there. Seeing no reason to hide then, Merlin stepped out into the doorway.
“How did you know I was here?” Merlin said.
“Really? Do you think I was born yesterday?” Ms. White turned to face him. “I have lived for hundreds of years. Do you really think I haven’t learned a little something in that time?”
Merlin could only stare at her, his mouth gaping open. Hundreds? He couldn’t believe it. Did it have something to do with the mirror, as the old man had said?
“Ah, I see,” she said, smiling at his astonishment, then turning to look into the top part of the mirror that was still uncovered. “Even after hundreds of years, I am still one of the fairest in the land.” She glanced at him then as if to see what he made of that statement.
Mirror. Fairest in the land. Ms. White. But...huh? Merlin didn’t know what to say, which seemed to amuse Ms. White. Finally, he said, “I thought you were the heroine in the story. What happened?”
“Oh, poor child,” she said, shrugging. “Life happened. The poor deluded wicked queen left many things behind, among them the mirror. Do you know how many questions I asked that mirror over the years? Well, one day, it told me how to make a different kind of mirror, one that grants wishes instead of telling you what you wished to hear.”
“Why use it on kids though? I mean, I was given amazing powers, but my friend was cursed. Why would you do that?” Merlin asked.
“I don’t think you would understand yet,” Ms. White said. “Maybe in time you will, but not yet.”
“Well, why don’t you tell me what I need to do to save my friend? How can I break the curse she is under?”
“I’ll tell you what,” Ms. White said, “if you can get past my friend here before I leave with the mirror, I just might tell you how to help your friend.”
With that, a shadow emerged from behind the mirror, slipping across the floor silently. Merlin backed up. A living shadow? But wasn’t that supposed to be a Peter Pan thing? Had Peter left his shadow with Ms. White? Oh great, just what he needed. For years, he had looked at the shadows of his room and seen monstrous shapes, and now he would be fighting one.